'Martin has become photo opportunity junkie, Harris needs to think more strategically': Ivan Yates
James Cox
Former minister Ivan Yates has said the Coalition Government's performance so far is "quite low".
In an interview with BreakingNews.ie, Mr Yates said Taoiseach Micheál Martin "has become a bit of a photo opportunity junkie" and Tánaiste Simon Harris "needs to think more strategically".
"The report card for this government in the first six months is quite low, three out of 10. Good programme for government, good transactional arrangement in putting the government together, ensuring its longevity," said Mr Yates.
"I think the government parties, both Simon Harris and Micheál Martin, had a pretty good election and post-election.
"The speaking rights row was totally counterproductive for the Government. It was not a core issue. I think it was something that should have been anticipated, TDs simultaneously being in government and opposition was always going to be a touchstone for the Opposition.
"It allowed the Opposition to get up a head of steam and that allowed the unity of the Opposition to have a cohesion, and also made the Dáil chamber exceptionally attritional, which I think all contributed to a bad start for the Government.
"The delay in setting up committees as well, I think that has been the worst period. The complete lack of government cohesion, from the appointment of a housing tsar to 'we're going to dismantle rent pressure zones... no we're not, we're going to double down on that', there were a lot of mixed messages."
Mr Yates was a Fine Gael TD for Wexford during his political career and served as minister for agriculture from 1994 to 1997.
Mr Yates said Mr Harris is "trying to reinvent himself and to find his niche for Fine Gael in a situation where there is a medium term risk that Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil could cannabilise each other".
They claim housing is their number one priority, but is it really?
While the two parties benefitted from transfers in the general election, Mr Yates said there is a danger if they lost their separate identities.
"They're getting the benefit of the sum of the parts being more than the individual parts in terms of preferences, but if that means there is no difference between them, the downside is one will cannabilise the other.
"They claim housing is their number one priority, but is it really? The Department of Finance and Department of Public Expenditure essentially turning down approved housing body schemes, public-private partnership, 3,000 units, that tells me actually government finances are more important than housing."
While the Government has had a difficult start, Mr Yates said there is the prospect of improvement.
He doesn't feel Sinn Féin have strengthened their prospects of leading a left-leaning government either.
"Then some ministers who hadn't gotten their feet under the table, let alone found their feet, are now starting to find their feet so from September with individual ministers on top of their briefs there is the prospect of it improving.
"However, there is no doubt from January to June was a very difficult period for the Government. The public wasn't buying it.
"The election is five years away though, are Sinn Féin any closer to leading the next government with the Social Democrats and the left? I don't think so.
"Basically, the two overviews of the government perspective are the issues of non-delivery across a number of fronts: water, electricity, infrastructure, and so on, they have not found a way to reform the planning system. They have not found a way of making things happen.
"In the next year they will either deliver in the revised National Development Plan or won't. I thought a hopeful sign was the recent summit on competitiveness, and a few later days they copped on that increasing insurance awards by 17 per cent was inimical to what their stated view was. They did a U-turn where it was correct.
"There are examples where they aren't connecting with the public though, such as pointing out inflation is down, that doesn't matter because they cost of living has never been higher."
He said the decision to "frontload" some of the difficult economic moves makes sense for a government hoping to see out its five-year term.
I think Micheál Martin has become a bit of a photo opportunity junkie.
"I would say the political fact is if you have a five-year term, you try to frontload all the bad news, all the austerity, into the first budget, into the first year.
"That is going to be the next big thing, moving on from lack of cohesion it will be unpopularity. In the last six years the solution to everything was to throw money at it, that is coming to an end because of the global uncertainty and particular uncertainty on FDI investment here.
"I think there are people in the Department of Finance who are adamant that the Troika will not return on their watch and therefore, they don't care how unpopular this makes the Government.
"I think Micheál Martin has become a bit of a photo opportunity junkie, there is a lack of depth.
"For Simon Harris, with student fees and things like this, it seems the initial six months as leader and Taoiseach, he was so full of energy he was responding three times a day on every issue that moved, he is not that different nowadays and therefore is a bit distracted and trying to lead the news on different things. It makes him look less earnest and less heavyweight. I think he needs to think more strategically."
